Sunday, May 15, 2016

That
was the first phrase that popped into my head after I read “A remarkable Act of Kindness.”* In summary,
it was about the kindness a United Customer Service Representative extended to one
customer and his family.

I’m
sure the last paragraph was properly positioned for an “exit with a bang”
effect and it worked on me – which is why I proceeded to write this piece. It
said:

“If you have ever have the opportunity to travel to Pohnpei, Rickson
would probably be one of the United Customer Service Representatives you would
remember,” wrote Oliver’s supervisor, Nary Reyes, in his United 100 nomination.
“He has the kind of attitude that makes everyone around him smile and instantly
be in a great mood. But he doesn’t limit his greatness to his working hours. Rickson is always kind and looking to help those in need outside of work as well. What he did for this customer is remarkable, and I am beyond proud to be on his team.”

Oh
wow! Right? Did you notice the last 10 words? Ok read it again…

There
were 2 main “Way of Working” lessons (whichcan WoW others) that I derived from this article:

Everyone can help someone – even
if it’s with a smile – and know that that’s a good start.

Everyone can get others to help
others with a smile and more. For me this was a superb example of Faith@Work. I
wouldn’t be surprised if more people went to find out more about the church he
attends and maybe even start fellowshipping there.

The
last 10 words of the article also made a deep impression on me; his supervisor was
“proud to be on his team”? Usually, it’s the other way around where supervisors
are proud to have you on their team. What this reminded me of was my usual
mantra that you don’t have to be “recognized” as a leader to be a leader. Each
of us can be a leader in the way we conduct ourselves and interact with others.
I agree that we need to respect and obey recognized
leaders/managers/supervisors but that doesn’t stop you from cultivating and
demonstrating leadership qualities. I shared a few of these qualities in my posts
in Q1.**

Indeed
a little kindness goes a long way and even puts you on the “Highway” – the
Highway of God. One of God’s desires is that we are kind one to another. As
they say, don’t look down on anyone except you’re helping them up…#BeKind wherever you are - even at work.

References:

* Article by Julia Wislocka on page 16 of the May 2016 Edition of Hemisphere @hemispheresmag

Sunday, May 1, 2016

When I was writing on the "A" for the LEADER
series, I found this article which I had to share...and I added pictures

Many people have written on what it means to be a
leader. Almost everyone identifies influence
as the primary characteristic. By definition, this means that leadership and
position are two different things. You can have a title, and a position of
power, but this does not mean that you are a leader. Even people without these
things can exert influence and thus leadership.